To discuss the Fat Poets Speak series of books of poems, published by Pearlsong Press

Friday, March 7, 2014

Safe spaces

FPS 2 is now listed in Amazon. (Fat Poets Speak 2). If you want your own copy, now is the time to order.

There is an entire section in FPS 2 devoted to "Safe Spaces." For fat people, safe spaces are places/spaces in which we do not hear any negative comments or comments trashing our weight, our right to exist, just as we are, as human beings, our right to be treated with respect and civility, and our rights to use and be granted the same access to products and services as those who are not fat.

Safe spaces can also be places/spaces in which we don't have to risk being told that we need any kind of alteration(s) to make us acceptable to the public at large. Safe spaces are certainly places in which we don't have to worry about people laughing at us, harassing us or assaulting us, or accusing us of hurting or assaulting others because they dislike our size and shapes. Safe spaces for us are places in which we are not bullied.

Safe spaces are places in which we can wear clothes we like and in which we feel comfortable without fear of ridicule. Safe spaces can be places in which we don't have to wear anything in particular or at all. Safe spaces are places in which furniture is strong enough to hold us comfortably without our being afraid that it will break or impede our breathing. Safe spaces are places in which bathrooms and shower and bath facilities allow us to fit comfortably and to use them without feeling squeezed. (Too bad there are very few seats on planes which fit this description.)